Fife Climate Forest is firmly laying down roots thanks to community tree planting made possible by UK Government funding.

In an inspiring example of local climate action, around 70 local school pupils are working alongside volunteers from Dunnikier Park Development Group to sensitively plant a mix of young and established trees in the park. These will increase canopy cover, enhance natural beauty and establish habitat for wildlife.

Thanks to the UK Government Shared Prosperity Fund, community tree planting has significantly branched out this winter, all contributing to Fife Climate Forest. Funding has allowed the creation of two seasonal tree planting roles at Fife Coast and Countryside Trust. These two posts support the Community Tree Planting Officer, who is funded by Climate Action Fife Community Fund.

Fife Climate Forest is a partnership project led by Fife Council, Climate Action Fife and Fife Coast and Countryside Trust. It’s a shared ambition to grow the number of trees, woods and forests in Fife.

Over 4,000 trees have been planted since November 2024, with the enthusiastic help of over 300 volunteers and community members. The tree team have been supporting communities in Kirkcaldy, Dunfermline and Cowdenbeath.

Rebecca Logsdon, Community Engagement Manager for Fife Climate Forest, and Fife’s Community Tree Planting Officer, says: “The additional funding has been invaluable this planting season. It’s meant we’ve had capacity to take Fife Climate Forest into communities with inspiring engagement activities. And we’ve been able to support community groups with their planting plans.

“The tree team has consulted locals and, as part of Fife Climate Forest, 300 standard and fruit trees have been planted that are able to be adopted. This means that communities and individuals will care for them and nurture them. Funds have also gone towards upgrading Fife Coast and Countryside Trust’s tree nursery so we can grow and look after more trees in the future. We’re really grateful to Fife Council for their support.”

Fife Council’s spokesperson for environment and climate change, Cllr. Jan Wincott, said: “Looking after trees is very important for our planet’s health. I’m proud to support Fife Climate Forest’s work to protect trees and plant new ones. Every tree we plant is good for local biodiversity and helps combat climate change.”

Rebecca adds: “Please get involved with a local community group, become a Fife Tree Warden, or join in one of our partner tree planting events.”

Fife Climate Forest is grateful for all its growing partner support. Find out how to get involved as a partner or supporter.

You can find details of tree planting events that you can attend on our event page or the Fife Coast and Countryside Trust website.

A shared vision to grow and protect the Kingdom’s trees, woods and forests has firmly laid down its roots with the launch of Fife Climate Forest.

Unveiled at Fife Climate Festival’s Big Day Oot, Fife Climate Forest is a partnership working together to protect the trees Fife already has and to plant new trees. Fife Climate Forest is a partnership project led by Fife Council, Climate Action Fife and Fife Coast and Countryside Trust. And the launch of the Fife Climate Forest is supported by Scottish Forestry funding. 

Rebecca Logsdon, Fife’s Community Tree Planting Officer, says: “There are many ways that groups and individuals can dig in to help biodiversity and combat climate change. Like planting a fruit tree in your garden, caring for local trees and becoming a voice in your community. Because every tree counts, and even small actions can make a difference.”

Fife Climate Forest will create a strategy and approach for ongoing tree protection, planting and care. This will support Fife’s Climate Action Plan and contribute to broader climate action goals.

Councillor Jan Wincott, Fife Council spokesperson for Environment and Climate Change, said: “Fife Climate Forest is an exciting step forward in tackling the Kingdom’s climate emergency. It’s laid down in our climate action plan ‘Climate Fife 2024’ and is so important in protecting and enhancing our natural environment.

“Partnership working is crucial, and I’m delighted to see so many organisations come together on this. At the root of Fife Climate Forest’s success will be the people engaged in volunteering to help nature, so I would urge people in Fife to find a way to get involved.”

Ea O Neill, Project Manager, Climate Action Fife said: “Fife trees and woods have an important role in helping us respond to the climate emergency. Increasing tree cover and connecting people to their local woods will benefit nature, our communities and our climate.

“Fife Climate Forest brings together the people who can make a difference. It has an exciting vision that will help make Fife a greener and fairer place.”

The winners of the ‘Postcards from the Future’ competition were also announced at the launch of Fife Climate Forest. The fantastic entries showed creative visions of a greener Fife.

The Big Day Oot also saw the launch of the Food4Fife Partnership’s strategy. The event was also an opportunity for many climate activities to come together, celebrate successes and demonstrate how people will work together to create a better future.

In the coming months, Fife Climate Forest community engagement activities will share the importance of trees and inspire action. Visit our events page to find details. Highlights will include immersive theatre, creative projects, tree planting and tree adoption.

Fife Climate Forest is grateful for all its growing partner support. Find out how to get involved as a partner or supporter.

Fife Climate Forest

How to get involved in Fife Climate Forest.

• Share your favourite woods and trees and where you would like to plant more trees and hedges at Green Maps.
• Volunteer to plant, look after and stand up for the trees in your patch through Fife Tree Wardens.
• Encourage your community to protect and plant trees.
• Help people source free or affordable fruit trees and learn how to take care of them through A Fruit Tree for Every Garden in Fife.
• Fundraise and donate to help protect and plants trees across Fife through the Fife Tree Fund.

Fife Climate Forest’s vision is Connect, Grow, Thrive.

Connect: Connect communities together with a shared vision about trees, woods, and forests. Help nature to recover by creating bigger, better, connected areas.

Grow: Grow the number of trees in Fife and help communities to care for them.

Thrive: Support thriving and resilient places for people and nature.

Partners include: CLEAR Buckhaven & Methil, Climate Action Fife, Fife Coast and Countryside Trust, Fife Communities Climate Action Network (FCCAN), Fife Council, Forestry and Land Scotland, NatureScot, NHS Fife, Rural Skills Scotland, Scottish Forestry, St Andrews Botanic Gardens, Transition University St Andrews, Trees for Cities, Tree Council, Sustainable Cupar and Woodland Trust Scotland.

The Everyday Cycling Fife campaign launched at Tree in the Park on Saturday 25^th May to encourage Fifers to get out on their bikes for everyday journeys.

Getting more people out of cars and onto bikes can play a big part in reducing our impact on the climate. It is also great for people’s physical and mental wellbeing.

By running this campaign, we hope to inspire Fifers to cycle for more everyday journeys like commuting to work and going to the shops.

Greener Kirkcaldy’s Active Travel Development Worker, Peter Wooding said.

 “Whether you have never picked up a bike before or cycle all the time, you can get involved in this campaign. We want to see people sharing their everyday cycles to show that you don’t have to be a ‘cyclist’ to get on a bike and start pedalling! We can offer lots of support and resources to help get you started.”

Cllr Jan Wincott, Fife Council’s Spokesperson for Environment and Climate Change, added:

“Whether you are a new, occasional or experienced cyclist, I fully encourage Fifers to join in on the Everyday Cycling Fife campaign. This is a great opportunity to get on a bike, get active and have fun. As well as being a fantastic leisure activity, cycling is a cheap and easy way to commute to work, travel to school or college, or pop to the local shops.

“More people taking part in active travel options such as cycling is fundamental to tackling climate change. Fife Council is working hard to make cycling a more attractive option by building more safe routes where people can move around with confidence. Making more trips by bike will benefit our environment, our air quality and people’s physical and mental wellbeing.”

You can get involved in the campaign in a number of ways:

Sharing your cycle journeys on social media using the #EverydayCyclingFife hashtag to help make travelling by bike more visible.

Visit our Cycle Info Hub. This an online space full of resources and information about all things cycling in Fife. It covers topics like getting started in cycling, how to find good routes, how to stay safe and more.

Talks, film screenings and cycle rides are taking place across Fife this summer for people to join. For example, in June Mike Elm visits Lang Toun Cycles Community Bike Shop in Kirkcaldy to talk about his experiences cycling across Europe. Following the talk, there will be a solstice cycle ride to make the most of the longest day of the year. Book now!

Community groups from across Fife were thrilled to receive an early Christmas present this year as over £25,000 was distributed across the region for climate action projects and events.

Community Climate Grants are a collaboration of two funds being offered by Fife Climate Hub and Climate Action Fife. A total of £27,500 was made available. £7,500 from the Small Grants Fund and £20,000 from the Seed and Development Grants. A total of 31 projects can now be delivered by 25 community groups as a result of the funding which launched in September.

“We were thrilled to receive applications from so many and such a variety of community groups from across Fife. It means a lot to us that people can feel empowered to take action on the climate crisis in ways that meets the needs of their communities and is within their reach.”

“It’s also great that we are now able to see the Fife Climate Festival coming together with the number of groups that applied to hold events during the festivals debut from February 25 to March 3 2024,” said Fife Climate Hub Manager Craig Leitch.

Two distinct grants were available. The Small Grants Fund of up to £500 for climate-related events in the community and the Seed and Development Grant offered up to £1,000 for climate-related activities and projects. Together they made up the Community Climate Grants, which went on offer in October 2023.

The resulting funds which were put into the community groups bank accounts this month means groups such as the Bats Wood Project in Levenmouth can forge ahead with plans to create living willow sculptures of wolves and an associated video called “Becoming Wolves in Bat’s Wood”. The sculptures will be a habitat for wildlife and will allow the Levenmouth Academy project to manage deer without the use of plastic.

Pauline Latto and Donald Grieve from Fife Curnie Clubs, a Fife Alcohol and Support Service (FASS) project are over the moon that they will be able to support people who are socially isolated. They plan to bring people together in their community growing veg and plants at the garden at Bennochy Community Hub in Kirkcaldy. 

Upon receiving their grant Mr Grieve said: “You have made an old man very happy. My staff have been talking about saving the planet a little at a time. Thank you for this.”

“Pauline Latto is the member of staff who will be working on this for us, she is presently doing cartwheels down Leven High Street! Pauline is our biggest eco warrior. She has been responsible for our shift to sustainable futures for us all. It also fits with our core activities and will enhance them. This is a small grant but that can go a long way, we are all really interested in the outcomes from this and of course having a hand in making it work.” he added.

Gail Miller at Friends of Pittencrieff Park, Dunfermline said: “Thanks for the good news, it was a good start to my day. I’m looking forward to acting on the project.” The Friends have two projects which will benefit from the funds: A book box, or free library box, in the park for everyone to use and recycle books keeping them out landfill. They hope this will promote discussion on re-using existing books and the climate. And the activity is raising plants in their greenhouse to distribute to the local foodbank to promote wellbeing and clean air.

Burntisland Community Development Trust received money to pilot upcycling and upskilling workshops. The series of six workshops led by local people sharing their skills in sewing and repairing clothes, making jewellery, reusing fabric to make things like rag rugs and bags, propagating plants and even electrical repairs and PAT testing.

Applicants for the Small Grants funding were encouraged to hold events during next year’s Fife Climate Festival which will run in communities across the Fife from 24th February to 3rd March 2024. Forgan Arts Centre, a member of Fife Climate Hub’s network, FCCAN, will use their funding to hold Climate Action Workshops and Climate Conversations during the festival.

Funded groups

Here is a list of all the groups that received a Community Climate Grant:

• Aberdour Climate Action Network
• Balmullo Community Council
• Bat’s Wood
• Buckhaven Primary Parent Council
• Burntisland Community Development Trust
• Cambo Heritage Trust
• Carnock and Gowkhall Community Trust
• CLEAR Buckhaven & Methil
• Colinsburgh Community Trust
• Culross Stables Community Hub
• Fife Alcohol Support Service ( Curnie Club )
• Footprint East Neuk
• Forgan Arts Centre
• Forth View Tenants & Residents Association
• Friends of Pittencrieff Park
• Kingsbarns Community Development Trust
• Leslie Golf Club
• Methilhill Community Children’s Initiative
• My Cowdenbeath CIC
• Rosyth Community Projects Limited
• St Andrews Botanic Garden Trust
• St Andrews Environmental Network Ltd
• Sustainable Cupar
• West Fife Woodlands Group
• YMCA Glenrothes

All of the projects will be delivered by 3rd March 2024. Find out more about Community Climate Grants.

Climate FRESK is a participatory and creative workshop that aims to raise awareness and understanding about climate change.

Based on the IPCC report, it explains the climate functioning and the consequences of its disruption. It gives the opportunity to learn a lot in a very short period of time and is for both novices and experts.

How the workshop works:

The workshop is based on a 42-card game. Each card represents a cause or a consequence of climate change.

As a team, guided by your facilitator, you are to find the cause-effect relationship between the different components of climate change. Collective intelligence will get you from one deck of card to the next!

This step-by-step reconstruction provides keys to understand the complexity and develop an overview of climate change.

The workshop is organised by Bat’s Wood, Growing Space & Bike Track (SCIO) Bat’s Wood is dedicated to the sustainable, environmental improvement of 5 acres of land behind Levenmouth Academy. They have planted many trees there already with the land owner’s permission and intend to plant more this year.

Join us for a fun, free and informative workshop that will help you understand climate change.

You will work as a team to find relationships between 42 climate cards. Each card represents a cause or effect of climate change. Together you will link the cards to build a collage that explains climate change. Collective intelligence and collaboration will get you to a solution!

This step-by-step, cooperative activity will help you work through the complexity of climate change. You will also get to be creating by decorating and naming your finished collage.

Climate Fresk is perfect for those who know that climate change is important, but feel that they would like to understand it more. There is no need for any previous climate knowledge; the workshop is a learning experience.

Climate Fresk is a French-based NGO with the aim to make climate science more accessible. More than 350,000 people have played worldwide.

You can read about a previous Climate Fresk workshop we delivered here.

Booking information

This workshop is free to attend, but spaces are limited so booking is required.

If you have any problems booking or any questions, please phone 01592 858458 or email info@greenerkirkcaldy.org.uk

Accessibility

There are accessible parking bays available outside 8 East Fergus Place. We have a ramp into the building and level access throughout. There is also an accessible toilet.

This event is planned to take place in a room that is situated up a flight of stairs with no lift access. We can arrange to move the event to a more accessible location if required. Please do not hesitate to book on and state that you need level access to attend the event when you get to the special requirements section of the booking form.

If you have any other accessibility questions please phone 01592 858458 or email info@greenerkirkcaldy.org.uk.

Climate Action Fife’s Public Sector Engagement Liaison Officer Hayley Williamson is leaving for pastures new and our partner Fife Council is looking for someone to fill her shoes!

The postholder will work with the wider Climate Action Fife project team to deliver the ambitions of the project. This is an exciting opportunity to help tackle the climate emergency.

The post has a specific role to: